There is a Man
Laura Trapp

No one knows how long he had suffered, how long he had endured the shame. The disease had taken its toll on his body, his very life. He had lost contact with all of those close to him, because of the stigma and fear of leprosy. His family, children, brothers, sisters, and friends, had all left him. His only companions were others who bore that same mark. It had numbed his body to the natural feeling of pain, so that fingers and toes had been lost due to injury. Even his face, once strong and noble, had been disfigured. He draped it with rags, so that others would not have to gaze on the horror of it. There was no one to go to, no where to turn. For all practical purposes, his life was over. He had become one of the living dead, waiting for the disease to consume him, one piece at a time.

But then, he heard about a Man.  He heard that this Man was teaching in the villages of Galilee, near his hovel of a home. And he was told that this Man was different…that he was a friend of sinners and the sick alike. He was told that this Man had a power like no other, and a compassion to match it: the power to heal the hopeless, to transform the shamed, to cleanse the filthy, and a compassion that did not turn and hide its head in disgust or self righteousness from the worst evil.

Taking his chances, he began to make his way to where he heard this Man was speaking. He did not expect to encounter such large crowds surrounding him, but he did not let that deter him. Pressing on through the crowds, he shouted, “Unclean! Unclean!” as the Law required, watching them melt away before him, like butter on the hot sand. They wanted nothing to do with him. Some pitied him, but most loathed him, fearing the contamination of his touch.

With the determination of a drowning man, he moved forward, until he could see the Master up ahead. He shouted from a safe distance and above the roar of the crowd, “LORD! If you are willing, you can make me clean!”  Somehow he knew. Somehow, faith rose up within him at the sight of this stranger. Here was a Man like no other. Here was his one Hope.

Gently pushing through the crowd, the Man approached him, as the leper looked away, covering himself with his filthy garments. Stooping low and covering himself with the rags, he tried to spare the Man the full revelation of his disfiguring condition, and the contamination of his very breath.  He crouched low on the ground, in abject humility, waiting simply for some word from Him.

But, wonder of wonders, instead of a word, he felt a touch! The leper, who had not experienced the touch of another human for so long, could not believe it. He tried to pull away, but the Man firmly gripped him, in a determined embrace, pulling away the dirty garments, and caressing his corrupt flesh. He exposed his shame, not to judge him, but to heal him. Gently He said, “I am willing. Be clean!” In amazement, the leper watched as his ugliness was transformed into a thing of beauty, as the hardened and hideous skin was changed before his eyes. The very point of shame and reproach had been changed into a revelation of God’s glory, as his skin was restored like that of a young child.

Friend, what are you hiding today? What is that place of shame that you keep carefully covered, that even isolates you from closeness to others? Where is that hidden thing in your life that is ugly and contaminating? You have borne it for so long, it has become a part of you, of who you think you are.  You have long ago given up hope that you can be healed, cleansed, and freed from it. You just try to keep it covered and keep that part of your life isolated and hidden from the judgmental crowds around you.    

But there is a Man. There is a Man who will not judge you, but will touch you in that most dark place, if you will but come to Him and cry out in your need. There is a Man who is touched by the feelings of our infirmities, for He Himself partook of our humanity.

Is it the stain of pornography? Is it the pain of childhood abuse? Is it some dark, regretful experience of your youth? Haven’t you carried the weight of it long enough? There is a Man. He will embrace you with compassion. He will touch you and make you whole, and restore your innocence with His supernatural, transforming power. He will heal you with His love.

But you must come to Him first. You must push through the crowd. You must fall at His feet. You must cry out.

He will touch you. And you will never be the same again.